Australia Up Close With 2000 Olympics, Focus Is On What Sydney Has To Offer By DARREN McLEAN	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
五輪開催地シドニーは見所満載 この9月にはオリンピックが開催されるシドニーは、国内で最大かつ最古の都市。筆者は先月休暇をとってシドニー見物を楽しみました。展望台の回転するレストランや、美しい砂浜など、見所は満載。また、五輪に向けてさまざまな施設も登場しています。

Australians go into holiday frenzy in January, and this year I was no exception. My girlfriend and I took two weeks away from the rigors of work to travel to Australia's largest and oldest city, Sydney. We packed the car and headed on an 11-hour journey down the east coast of Australia toward the host city of the 2000 Olympics.

After a tiring trip we were delighted to see the famous city landmarks of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House.

Life in this year's Olympic city revolves around the famous Sydney Harbor and its surrounding coves and beaches. And, like most of the world's large cities, there is a maze of high-rises, bustling traffic and hustling people.

Sydney's surrounding wharves are also main industry terminals exporting wool, wheat and meat from inland Australia. The metropolitan area stretches inland to Australia's Great Dividing Range, making it one of the world's largest cities in area and home to over 4 million Australians.

The highest point in Sydney's central business district is Center point Tower, a famous city landmark like Tokyo Tower. Standing 275 meters high, Centerpoint Tower has viewing platforms and restaurants that revolve slowly to give a breathtaking 360 degree view of Sydney and the surrounding mountains and ocean. I was lucky to get a window seat when I dined there during my stay.

Sydney is also a popular cultural center for students and artists. The city has five universities, five museums and many concert halls and art galleries for the culturally inclined. Last year saw the opening of Fox Studios in Sydney, which has brought major Hollywood film projects to the area.

Like most of Australia's coastline, Sydney is blessed with vast sandy beaches. The most famous of these is Bondi Beach, 15 minutes from the city center. Bondi Beach reminded me a lot of my home town, the Gold Coast, with beachside hotels, shops and cafes.

Just south of Bondi is the famous Botany Bay where Captain Cook landed in 1788 to claim Australia as a British territory. The bay and surrounding bush are set aside as a national park to preserve the area's heritage.

Over the past three years the Australian government has pumped over A$2 billion (¥140 billion) into the Sydney area to provide world-class sporting facilities for the Olympic Games.

The Sydney Olympic Park is located at Homebush Bay, just 14 kilometers from the city center, so I decided to take a trip out and see what Australian taxpayers are spending their money on.

It was a quiet day at Olympic Park when I visited, but it was easy to imagine the hum of activity when over 35,000 athletes, officials and media converge on the Olympic center in September.

The jewel in Olympic Park's crown is Stadium Australia, the largest outdoor venue in modern Olympic history. Stadium Australia can hold up to 120,000 spectators and is 14 stories high. In fact, four Boeing 747s would fit side by side under the stadium's main arch. Costing A$690 million (¥48.3 billion), Stadium Australia stands out as a Sydney landmark.

Stadium Australia has already been packed out for major events such as a Bee Gees concert and international rugby matches, but no doubt nothing will compare to the electric atmosphere when the Olympics are officially opened.

Olympic Park also boasts an international aquatic sports center, state hockey and sports center, international athletics center, tennis center and archery park, and Australia's largest indoor superdome, which seats up to 20,000 people.

Other facilities at Olympic Park include hotels, cafes, a heritage center, lakes, parks, gardens and even a driving range. Adjacent is a purpose-built Olympic village to house athletes during the games. Olympic Park is a small city of its own.

The time I spent in Sydney was only long enough to see part of what the city has to offer, but I did manage to find some relaxation amid the city rush. When you watch the Olympic events in Sydney later this year, you will probably see for yourself that it has everything you could possibly want from a holiday destination.

Shukan ST: Feb. 11, 2000

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